Deepfakes Flood Social Media as Iran War Enters Third Week
By [Your Name], International Editor
The ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran has spawned a surge of artificial intelligence-generated disinformation, overwhelming social media platforms with fabricated videos and images, according to reports from The New York Times. Just over two weeks into the war, a “torrent” of deepfakes is actively shaping – and distorting – perceptions of the conflict.
The deepfakes, particularly prevalent on X, Facebook, and TikTok, depict scenarios ranging from explosions in Tel Aviv and successful attacks on U.S. warships to fabricated scenes of Iranian victories and the aftermath of strikes. Some videos are highly polished, mimicking Hollywood-style action, while others present more subtle manipulations, such as falsely portraying events surrounding a U.S. strike that tragically hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Iran, killing at least 175 people, most of them children. While the attack itself was real, the video circulating was not.
According to a recent report by the firm Cyabra, which tracks influence campaigns, Iran is orchestrating this deepfake campaign. The goal is twofold: to bolster domestic support by portraying Iran as effectively retaliating against its adversaries, and to undermine the legitimacy of U.S. and Israeli operations on the international stage.
This isn’t an isolated incident. The use of deepfakes in wartime has become increasingly common. In March 2022, a fabricated video circulated purporting to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordering his troops to surrender. Similarly, during the Israel-Hamas war in late 2023, deepfakes depicting suffering and alleged Israeli military actions emerged online. A November 2025 report to the U.S. Congress by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission highlighted China’s use of disinformation during a previous conflict between India and Pakistan.
Iran’s history of cyber-influence operations further underscores the deliberate nature of this campaign. The Handala hacking group, reportedly linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, has been implicated in compromising networks in Israel, the U.S., and allied nations, and is allegedly responsible for creating deepfakes targeting Israeli leaders.
Tehran appears to be targeting multiple audiences with this disinformation. Beyond boosting morale at home – particularly crucial given the regime’s recent struggles with economic hardship and protests – the campaign aims to sway international opinion and increase pressure on the United States and Israel to de-escalate the conflict. The effort also seeks to erode support for the war within the U.S., where public opposition is already significant.
Combating this wave of deepfakes requires a coordinated response. Experts suggest collaboration between governments and private companies to detect, debunk, and remove the fabricated content. However, the sheer volume of deepfakes being produced, coupled with the rapid proliferation of generative AI tools – including over 93,000 text-to-image models and 4,000 text-to-speech generators available on platforms like Hugging Face and GitHub – presents a significant challenge.
While U.S. government agencies are investing in deepfake detection technology, they are struggling to keep pace. Furthermore, social media platforms, which host the majority of this content, are often slow to respond, and their algorithmic recommendations can inadvertently amplify the spread of disinformation.
The situation highlights the need for increased investment in personnel and technology dedicated to combating deepfakes, as well as improved information sharing between governments, tech companies, and academic institutions. Even with these improvements, decision-makers must acknowledge that deepfakes will continue to shape perceptions of conflict, requiring them to make judgments with incomplete and potentially misleading information.
As the conflict with Iran demonstrates, the battle to control narratives – and to distinguish truth from fabrication – is becoming as critical as the fighting itself.
